As the designer explained in an interview for the Daily Telegraph in November 2008, "She happened to wear that dress when visiting a hospital, and children seemed to clamour round and like it. If you are like the Princess of Wales, who loved children, you don't want a strictly formal suit for a hospital visit. You pick a very informal dress with bright colours, which that dress was. The reaction is one of awe from young children." He went on to explain "she realised its bright colours was attractive to sick or suffering children, making them relaxed in her presence. It meant that when she faced comment from a public, unaware of her reasons for wearing the dress, the Princess told Sassoon she would not bow to popular pressure." She wore it usually on visits to hospitals or other stops for her charity work, and called it her 'caring dress', because the cheerful print evoked a positive response, especially from children.

True to her word, she wore it repeatedly through the late 80's and early 90's, so often, in fact, that the press did indeed complain every time she was seen in it.